The 2026 Serpentine Pavilion has been unveiled, and this year’s commission marks both a milestone and a return to architectural experimentation rooted in material, public encounter, and cultural exchange. Designed by Mexico City-based studio LANZA atelier, founded by Isabel Abascal and Alessandro Arienzo, the Pavilion opens to the public on 6 June 2026 at the Serpentine in London’s Hyde Park.
Now in its 25th edition, the Serpentine Pavilion continues its legacy as one of the world’s most closely watched architectural commissions, offering emerging and globally significant practices the chance to build temporary structures in the heart of the city. This anniversary year also pays tribute to Zaha Hadid, whose inaugural Pavilion in 2000 established the experimental spirit that still defines the program today.
LANZA atelier’s ‘a serpentine’ to Transform Hyde Park for Serpentine Pavilion 2026
Titled a serpentine, the Pavilion takes inspiration from the historic “crinkle-crankle” or serpentine wall, a curving brick structure commonly associated with Suffolk landscapes but rooted in ancient Egyptian engineering traditions before being adapted in England by Dutch engineers. The wall here becomes an architectural device for openness, rhythm, and movement.
The Pavilion’s defining feature is a gently curving brick wall paired with a translucent canopy supported by brick columns that evoke a grove of trees. Positioned carefully within the surrounding landscape, the structure allows light and air to move freely through the space, softening the distinction between interior and exterior. Brick was chosen deliberately, not only to reference English garden traditions but also to establish a dialogue with the nearby Serpentine South Gallery, itself once a tea pavilion.
LANZA atelier describes the project as an architecture of permeability and encounter rather than enclosure.
“Set within a garden, an evocation of the natural world, the project takes the form of a serpentine wall, conceived as a device that both reveals and withholds, shaping movement, modulating rhythm, and framing thresholds of proximity, orientation, and pause,” the architects said.
“Inspired by the figure of the serpent as a generative and protective force, we draw a parallel with England’s winding fruit walls, which are structures that temper climate, create shelter, and enable growth.”
The architects also designed the Pavilion’s furniture, producing chairs and stools in locally crafted sapele hardwood. The gesture reflects the studio’s wider approach to architecture and furniture as interconnected forms of spatial design operating at different scales.
Founded in 2015, LANZA atelier has steadily built an international reputation for projects that combine craftsmanship, research, and material sensitivity. Their practice often rethinks vernacular building traditions through contemporary forms, balancing technical experimentation with deeply human spatial experiences. The Serpentine Pavilion commission represents the second time Mexican architects have been selected for the program, following Frida Escobedo in 2018.
For Artistic Director of Serpentine, Hans Ulrich Obrist, the Pavilion remains an evolving platform for emerging architectural voices and interdisciplinary public programming.
“LANZA atelier’s architecture always involves a deep engagement with the local context, materials, and lived experience,” Obrist said. “Their spaces invite people to imagine a more connected, compassionate, and creative future.”
Serpentine Expands Pavilion Programme for 25th Anniversary Year
Throughout the summer and until October 2026, the Pavilion will serve as the centerpiece of Serpentine’s public program, hosting a wide range of live events spanning music, film, theater, dance, literature, philosophy, fashion, and technology. The annual commission has long evolved beyond architecture alone, becoming a civic platform for interdisciplinary exchange and public participation.
Launching on 5 June, LANZA atelier will join Serpentine Artistic Director Hans Ulrich Obrist for a public conversation exploring the ideas and process behind this year’s Pavilion. From July onwards, a serpentine will also host Serpentine’s Park Nights series, inviting artists and performers to create new site-specific works within the structure.
Additional programming will include curator-led Pavilion tours, family days featuring workshops and performances, and a dedicated architectural program developed in collaboration with the Zaha Hadid Foundation to commemorate the late Zaha Hadid and mark the Pavilion’s 25th anniversary year.
The program will take place at The Magazine at Serpentine North, designed by Hadid herself, bringing together architects, cultural practitioners, and thinkers to reflect on the evolving future of architecture while revisiting Hadid’s lasting influence on the Pavilion commission and contemporary spatial practice.
Serpentine will also publish LANZA atelier’s first monograph to accompany the commission, designed by Estudio Herrera and featuring contributions from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cristina Rivera Garza, curator José Esparza Chong Cuy, and poet Ocean Vuong.
The 2026 Serpentine Pavilion is realized in partnership with Goldman Sachs, which supports the commission for the twelfth consecutive year. Technical delivery is led by AECOM alongside Stage One Creative Services, marking Stage One’s seventeenth Serpentine Pavilion collaboration.
Reflecting on the rapid construction process, Stage One Creative Services Chief Creative Officer Tim Leigh described the project as “a testament to working together,” noting that the entire workflow was completed within six months, with the on-site build taking just forty days.
Credit: © LANZA atelier / Serpentine
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